Practicality has always been one of the best qualities of a successful summer resident. The economic owner of the suburban housing will also improve the house, and he will collect the rich harvest, and the largest and most rosy apples will grow apples in the garden - all because he uses only successful experience and is not afraid of experiments. Why, for example, not to turn a blooming flower bed into a compact garden first-aid kit or not to break a healing flower garden in place of a garden? Let's try to figure out whether useful plants can replace traditional phloxes and asters in their decorative characteristics.
Where to arrange a therapeutic flower garden
Our task is to arrange a flower garden at the dacha, but not an ordinary one, but exclusively medicinal so that each plant in the flowerbed has useful properties - medicinal or cosmetic.
I dug a few roots - and prepared an infusion for gargling, steamed a couple of flowers - and the fragrant soothing tea is ready. But at the same time, our plants should bloom beautifully or, in extreme cases, have expressive leaves. Fortunately, among the medicinal flora there are dozens of such examples, but we will dwell in more detail only on a few.
The simplest solution is to plant several ready-made flower beds with medicinal flowering herbs. It is no secret that among useful plants there are specimens with lush buds and beautiful inflorescences.
Instead of a delphinium, you can plant a similar fireweed, better known as Ivan tea, and replace hyacinths with lavender. The appearance of a flowering flower bed will not change, however, each new plant is valuable for its healing properties.
If you’re not used to using a “green first aid kit”, you can do so, but experienced “healers” always stock up with useful weed for the future, so a small motley flower bed will not be enough. Fresh stems, leaves, buds and roots are used immediately, but most of them are dried and used throughout the year.
Consequently, 2-3 bushes will not be enough, it is better to prepare several flower beds, a multi-level flower garden or create a small pharmacy complex consisting of flower beds, plants in a cache-pot or containers that can be stored on a covered terrace for the winter.
The fact is that not all medicinal perennials are able to survive the harsh winter, so containers are an excellent mobile tool for seasonal decoration of a summer residence.
And you can also make delicious flower beds from edible crops, read about it: //diz-cafe.com/ideas/appetitnye-klumby.html
For medicinal herbs, we recommend "staking out" flower beds near a residential building, summer kitchen or gazebo - that is, a place where it will be convenient to work with plants in the future (prepare decoctions, tinctures, dry, etc.)
If this is not possible, any corner of the garden, garden or even territory for children's games is suitable. The main thing is that our flowerbeds do not interfere, but, on the contrary, serve as decoration of a summer cottage.
Useful plants for flower beds: planting, growing, care
Almost all medicinal herbaceous plants bloom. Some of them are small, inconspicuous inflorescences (yarrow), others are bright buds (officinalis, digitalis). You can plant both of them, or combine them, creating wonderful compositions. You can alternate the rows of brightly flowering plants with greenery, since the leaves of many herbs look spectacular. For example, a medicinal product bought resembles a lily of the valley, and chervil resembles a fern.
Consider the conditions for growing those herbs that are familiar from childhood, are freely sold in the pharmacy and are actively used at home. Each of the plants is safe, if not exceed the dosage. Also, do not forget about individual intolerance and allergic reactions, therefore a consultation with a doctor before use (or even garden experiments) is required.
St. John's wort - from all diseases
Our grandmothers did not grow St. John's wort, but collected tall stems with bright yellow flowers in the fields directly behind the village. Now it’s difficult to find a clean area with safe soil and plants, it is much easier to grow useful grass in your country house. And we sow St. John's wort right on the flowerbed.
St. John's wort is a perennial, this must be taken into account when arranging a flower bed. With proper care, flowering begins by the end of the first year, and in the second year there is a large and lush flowering
It is necessary to sow in the autumn, so that strong sprouts appear in the spring. We select a place closer to the center of the flower bed, since the height of St. John's wort reaches 30 cm. We cultivate the soil: dig it with compost or peat, add a little flower mineral fertilizers. The distance between the rows is 40-45 cm.
We do not bury the seeds, but leave them on the surface, slightly pressing them into the soil. With arid and hot springs, it is better to use the potted method of cultivation, and to plant ready-made seedlings in the ground. One and a half months after germination, another nitroammophos feed is needed - 2 g / m².
The main care for St. John's wort is weeding and additional watering in a drought. Starting from the second year of planting, they give 150-200 g of dry raw materials from 1 m²
Mint - for freshness and freshness
An unpretentious plant with a pleasant aroma, many are grown in gardens, and we will plant it in a flower bed.
Peppermint cannot boast of luxurious buds, however, it is perfect for edging higher flowering herbs.
One of the main advantages of peppermint is its undemanding to growing conditions: it is well developed on any soil, can withstand a dry period, develops well under sunlight and in partial shade
During the autumn planting, we introduce biological fertilizers into the ground - manure, compost, wood ash. We need pre-prepared sprouts or cuttings of rhizomes. Given the rapid growth, we leave intervals up to half a meter between the nests. In spring, peppermint requires abundant watering.
To achieve a decorative effect and make the bushes even, pinch the tops of the main stems. Mint grows actively, so care is weeding, watering and infrequent cultivation. In the sun, the bushes will be more lush and tall, in the shade - miniature.
Due to the increased humidity, mint can get “rust”. Do not rush to feed with chemical fertilizers (sometimes the disease occurs due to their fault) - remove large branches and introduce a little compost into the soil, new processes will be healthy
Also, material on the intricacies of growing fragrant herbs will be useful: //diz-cafe.com/ideas/sad-aromatov.html
Solar calendula
There are so many varieties of calendula that only with the help of it you can decorate several flower beds. Plant height (from 20 centimeters to meters) allows you to make all kinds of multi-tiered compositions. Many love calendula for its long flowering period. Due to cold resistance, plants do not fade even in frosts - up to -5ºС.
The decorative possibilities of calendula are endless: many varieties (Hamlet, Favorite, Sensation, Kabluna, Medallion, Golden Ball, Meteor, Radio) are rich in shades from pale yellow to bright orange or light brown
Calendula, or "marigolds", loves the sun and moderately moist soil. On the shaded area, the growth of both stems and inflorescences slows down. It is better to sow it in October, directly in the open ground. Spring crops will sprout and bloom much later.
Seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of 2-3 cm, we have a nesting method of 30x30. With this planting, the plants will be tall and lush. If rows are needed - we sow a "path" at intervals of 5-6 cm.
To protect the calendula from powdery mildew and similar spotted diseases, we treat the stems and leaves with Topaz gardening before flowering, and we wipe away wilted inflorescences and dry leaves in a timely manner
Fragrant lavender
The most popular varieties are English lavender, Dutch, genuine, stehad, toothed. Plants of different species differ in height, leaves, shades and shape of inflorescences.
Pink, blue and purple lavender is used in flower beds to create an expressive floral background or a neat bright border, combined with white, red and blue shades, as well as greens
Lavender loves sunny areas and is intolerant of waterlogging, so drainage or raised flower beds are necessary in wetlands. To regulate acidity, wood ash can be added to the soil, and for loosening - compost, then flowering will be especially plentiful.
If it is difficult to fulfill all the conditions, purchase the Lavender broadleaf variety - it is unpretentious and feels great on any soil.
Be careful with nitrogen fertilizers - they affect the development of stems and leaves, while the inflorescences become insufficiently lush. It is better to feed lavender with potash fertilizers
The simplest method of reproduction is through stem layering. We bend a twig, press it to the ground, sprinkle it and fix it with a load or a hairpin. It takes several months to root. As soon as the roots are formed, we cut off the cuttings, and we treat the cut for protection with coal.
Valerian - cat's joy
The soothing drink on drops of valerian is familiar not only to people, our pets - cats and cats of all kinds - are happy to gnaw on dried roots, for which an amazing plant is called cat grass.
The small, fragrant, pinkish-white flowers of Valerian collected in large inflorescences are more likely to be background, therefore they will easily fit into any floral arrangement, moreover, they bloom throughout the summer, which will only benefit our healing flower bed
We sow seeds in July, then we need a transplant in September. We make shallow grooves in the soil, put the seeds and sprinkle them with nutritious soil, it is better humus.
After about a couple of weeks, seedlings will be visible, which, after the appearance of the fourth leaf, is transplanted to a constant place of growth. The soil of the flower bed should also be enriched with humus, dig up and loosen.
Plants that remain in the flowerbed for "wintering" must be fed with a nitroammophos or similar fertilizer (containing phosphorus and nitrogen), enough 50 g per 1 m²
If you sow plants in early spring, then by autumn they will give the first crop of rhizomes, and summer planting will be useful only next year.
Sage - the universal doctor
In the northern regions, it is preferable to grow winter-hardy and healthy varieties - Patriarchal Semko, Nectar, Aibolit, Breeze. The listed species are included in the State Register of the Russian Federation and are officially recognized as therapeutic.
Sage forms tall, lush bushes of blue color, therefore, when decorating flower beds, the best place will be central or at the wall (fence), if the flower bed is adjacent to the fence
Landings require medium acidity soil (up to 6.5 pH), good lighting. A moderately moist loamy soil is suitable. As fertilizer we use compost, humus and flower potash-nitrogen recharge.
Attention: it is not recommended to sow seeds with seeds where relatives of sage previously grew. The best option is soil from legumes, potatoes, cabbage or onions
Seeds are planted in October or early spring, arranged by the nesting method or grooves, at intervals of 25 to 45 cm. We make indentations of 2 cm, sprinkle with loose soil. In one place, sage develops for a rather long time - up to 8 years.
Pharmacy flower design
To begin with, the shape and size of treatment beds are no different from ordinary ones. Suppose that you have already picked up several useful plants that differ in height, splendor, shades and size of inflorescences. Our task is to properly arrange the flowerbed itself and place the plants on it so that the whole composition looks attractive, and does not resemble spontaneously and randomly planted crops.
The shape of the flower bed can be round, oval, square, rectangular or elongated along the facade of the house or fence. If it is located in the center of the site, combined structures can be used.
The original two-tier design is ideal for creating a therapeutic flower garden: sectors of different shapes can be filled with cultures with inflorescences of different shades, contrasting or related
The idea of raising flower beds is not new - it is with the help of raised designs that you can create magnificent pyramid flower beds. From the technical side, such structures also have an advantage: it is convenient to arrange a drainage layer in them for plants that do not like too wet soil.
If you are used to working with beds, you can create an interesting flowerbed in the form of a mini-garden: divide a large area into sectors resembling individual beds and plant them in blooming crops
Planting plants of one species is simple, much more difficult to compose compositions from different cultures within the same flower bed. In this case, it is necessary to take into account all the nuances:
- flowering time;
- the height of the stems;
- the shape and shade of inflorescences;
- growth activity.
The rest depends only on the imagination of the grower. Let us give an example of a flower bed on which a composition of 12 plants is collected. Of course, it will give a little medicinal raw materials, but the decorative effect is excellent.
You can learn more about how to break a beautiful flower garden in front of the house from the material: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/cvetnik-pered-domom-na-dache.html
The inhabitants of the flowerbed: 1 - parsley; 2- chives; 3 - thyme; 4 - mint; 5 - chamomile; 6 - rosemary; 7 - oregano; 8 - tarragon; 9 - sage; 10 - echinacea; 11 - lavender; 12 - hyssop officinalis
Tips for Using Healthy Herbs
We remind you once again that before using any cosmetic and medicinal herbs, it is necessary to clarify whether you are allergic to them.
The bright and expressive nasturtium, which we used to use as an ampelic floral decor, is also useful: it helps with hypertension, bronchitis and anemia
If everything is in order, then we will consider in what cases our flowerbed-first-aid kit can be useful just outside the city, when there are no pharmacies and clinics nearby:
- Pharmacy chamomile is indispensable for colds: inhalation, gargling with a decoction, medicinal tea.
- Echinacea and St. John's wort will strengthen immunity.
- The anti-inflammatory properties of calendula will help with sore throat and stomatitis.
- Tea with mint and lemon balm is not only tasty, but also healthy - invigorates, refreshes and improves digestion.
- Skin rashes and small scratches are treated with decoctions of celandine, string and St. John's wort.
- Sage is indispensable for bronchitis and gastrointestinal inflammation.
If you use healthy plants correctly, half of the medicine from your first-aid kit brought from the city will remain untouched.
Ordinary muzzle is known for those who have problems with the cardiovascular system. It increases the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels, in addition, it helps with headaches, polio and multiple sclerosis
It turns out that it’s so easy to be practical, to harmoniously combine the beauty and benefits of plants! And care for medicinal crops is required no more than for traditional flower gardens.
And finally, about how medicinal herbs are grown in the north, on the island of Kizhi:
